PAX West Spotlight: KeyWe
By Rae
Like cute birds? Enjoy puzzles? Just want to have a wholelot of fun?
KeyWe is probably going to be a fantastic fit for you then. It was one of those games that I saw someone else playing at the Xbox open house and just had to know more – it’s cute, quirky, and definitely something special and unique.
In KeyWe, you and a friend will take up the …. er … feathers of Jeff and Debra. These two tiny kiwis work at the post office of Bungalow Basin. Sure, everything in the post office is bigger than they are, but that won’t stop them! As a team, you’ll have to take on several challenges – typing, preparing packages, figuring out locations – that require you to put all your heart and soul into working out (and sometimes throw yourself against things). Players will be challenged with basic skills such as reading comprehension and arithmetic, and the weather will play a role in your challenges as well.
Along the way you can enjoy fancy extras such as kiwi hats and plummage skins, and try out some minigames.
The game itself is adorable and chaotically fun, with abouncy soundtrack to match. It was fun watching people struggle through theirchallenges, and the graphics never stop being wonderfully adorable. It’s asuper unique and refreshing little game that was apparently the result of agame jam challenge that required Stonewheat & Sons to include birds andtransmission. Thankfully, they brought it together in the most adorable waypossible.
I will caution that KeyWe is going to be local co-op only, and as far as I can tell it does require a second player, so you’ll want to make sure you have someone to enjoy it with! Unfortunately I don’t have a whole lot of details about the release yet, but this one looks super promising. You can keep up with KeyWe either by signing up for the mailing list on the website, or following them on Twitter!